I should have learned long ago to stop attempting to apply logic and reason to DBZ...but why were the Saiyans surprised that the Z fighters could hide their true power level?

Like the picture above, Nappa is clearing powering up. As does Vegeta when he fights Goku. They apparently can also hide their power level. Yet they seem shocked when they realized the earthlings could do it to....

I should have learned long ago to stop attempting to apply logic and reason to DBZ...but why were the Saiyans surprised that the Z fighters could hide their true power level?

Like the picture above, Nappa is clearing powering up. As does Vegeta when he fights Goku. They apparently can also hide their power level. Yet they seem shocked when they realized the earthlings could do it to....

Thinking about DBZ too hard can make your head hurt.

The thing is, I don't think they can hide their true power level at that point (the Saiyans), I think they just need to power up to bring it out and get physically ready and stuff. If you point the scouter at them before powering up, I'd bet it still shows their true power level, unlike the Earthlings. Once Vegeta goes to Namek, he says he's finally able to hide his true power, as evidenced in his fight with Cui.

Vegeta is also able to just magically sense power levels too just by spending some time on earth. No one shows him how...he just does it once he gets to Namek. It's like revealing that there is a power grants it to him. He is an ultimate badass so maybe he really can just absorb powers by seeing them in action.

Not bad for a guy who was supposed to die in the first saga on earth then not be in the rest of the show at all. People love their asshole anti-heroes though.

I always found it funny how pretty much every Z-Fighter, with the exception of the ones born into the group, were rivals/enemies of Goku at one point in time.

Yeah, that was a pretty big part of the series. Yamcha was originally a bandit trying to steal the dragonballs from Goku and Bulma. Krillin was Goku's rival/training partner. Tien was taught by Master Roshi's rival from the Crane school. Piccolo was the offspring of King Piccolo, the evil half of Kami. And Vegeta was...well, Vegeta.

He was the last one that switched sides. Goku tries to let Frieza live but ends up blasting him. Cell had to be killed by Gohan. Buu has to be killed and is then reborn as a good guy...

And unless I'm forgetting someone obvious, Goku never outright kills anyone in the series. He tries to finally destroy Frieza but he lives. Everyone else Goku just leaves crippled to be killed by someone else (like Vegeta finishes off the Ginyu force or Gohan killing Cell.)

He got an assist in killing Radditz, though Piccolo was the one delivering the blow, which also killed Goku. Had to be super bittersweet for Piccolo.

Chiaotzu!!!!!!! Idk if anyone else ever played the Budokai Tenkaichi fighting series but my friends hated me because I would literally mop the floor with them using Chiaotzu. Endless combos with him were epic.

Also, there's a pause button for a reason, I use it all the time when I can't spell something :)

Nah, I never played any of the DBZ games....all I had was an NES and Sega Genesis until my brother and I finally pooled our birthday money (our b-days are a week apart) to buy a PS One....then the PS2 came out. And then when the 3rd gen was coming out, I bought my friend's PS2 off of him for $70...probably overspent but oh well. And then I didn't get a 360 until November 2010.